We were absolutely not prepared for what we found when we turned up to Bowman park to free camp for the night. Lots of people had left good comments about it on wikicamps but nothing could have prepared us.
It’s hard to describe it really. From what we can gather, it used to be a camp-ground where school groups would come. There are beautiful old buildings that used to be dormitories, bathrooms, kitchens, study halls etc abandoned in various stages of decay. There is a closed restaurant. There is an entire building called “reptile house” that lies abandoned. Then there are the gardens. There are manicured paths through the garden that has been sectioned into different climate zones. The gardens are just full of native plants it’s amazing. There are bee hives. There is an old aviary with a sole male peacock still roaming freely around the gardens. It’s kind of surreal because some of the buildings seem like they could be from the 1800’s - they are all built in a traditional brick style. But some are clearly still being used today. There is a sign on the door to the restaurant advertising it for weddings and special occasions and it would be just perfect for both. The gardens are partly in ruins, but then have new signs and clear paths. The aviary is falling down but the peacock is still happily roaming around. It’s surreal. It’s beautiful. I would have loved to have seen it in its heyday.
It’s hard to describe it really. From what we can gather, it used to be a camp-ground where school groups would come. There are beautiful old buildings that used to be dormitories, bathrooms, kitchens, study halls etc abandoned in various stages of decay. There is a closed restaurant. There is an entire building called “reptile house” that lies abandoned. Then there are the gardens. There are manicured paths through the garden that has been sectioned into different climate zones. The gardens are just full of native plants it’s amazing. There are bee hives. There is an old aviary with a sole male peacock still roaming freely around the gardens. It’s kind of surreal because some of the buildings seem like they could be from the 1800’s - they are all built in a traditional brick style. But some are clearly still being used today. There is a sign on the door to the restaurant advertising it for weddings and special occasions and it would be just perfect for both. The gardens are partly in ruins, but then have new signs and clear paths. The aviary is falling down but the peacock is still happily roaming around. It’s surreal. It’s beautiful. I would have loved to have seen it in its heyday.
There are also new features. It’s clear the council is trying to bring life back to it. There are free electric BBQ’s and toilets. There are tables and chairs. We ran into some volunteers who come twice a week to maintain the area. And we saw no less than 10 families come for a stroll through the gardens, a picnic or a bushwalk. I can only imagine the memories the parents and grandparents must have of school camps here in their youth. They have made the park an RV friendly destination now and that is how we came to know of it, and of the town as well! Without that park we would never have come here, and we are so so glad we did.
There are also a lot of bush walks you can do. We followed some trails and came across a whole other section of the park that used to be for camping. It was so beautiful. It felt both that it hadn’t been used for years, and that it was used in secret quite often. We climbed hills and looked out over the green South Australian landscape and we walked along the Heysen trail (a 1200km trail that stretches from Southern SA to the Flinders ranges). We daydreamed about moving the van to the other side of the river into the old camp grounds but were put off by the 5 locks on the gate. Our overnight stay quickly turned into 2 and as I write this, possibly 3. It’s just such a beautiful place. It’s the perfect mix of old meets new and we kind of don’t want to leave. We just want to keep walking back through the gardens and hiking along the trails and then finishing the day off with some yoga in the middle of the perfectly manicured oval.
Maybe we will stay a third night. Why not?
I hope in the future they can revive the camp grounds and gardens. We would most definitely come back again, and quite possibly stay even longer.
There are also a lot of bush walks you can do. We followed some trails and came across a whole other section of the park that used to be for camping. It was so beautiful. It felt both that it hadn’t been used for years, and that it was used in secret quite often. We climbed hills and looked out over the green South Australian landscape and we walked along the Heysen trail (a 1200km trail that stretches from Southern SA to the Flinders ranges). We daydreamed about moving the van to the other side of the river into the old camp grounds but were put off by the 5 locks on the gate. Our overnight stay quickly turned into 2 and as I write this, possibly 3. It’s just such a beautiful place. It’s the perfect mix of old meets new and we kind of don’t want to leave. We just want to keep walking back through the gardens and hiking along the trails and then finishing the day off with some yoga in the middle of the perfectly manicured oval.
Maybe we will stay a third night. Why not?
I hope in the future they can revive the camp grounds and gardens. We would most definitely come back again, and quite possibly stay even longer.
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